Sunday ratings no simple song & dance

On Sunday night the ABC lost some of its audience to SBS and its Eurovision broadcast.

ABC’s share was down to 12.7%, while SBS lifted to 9.9%. Last Sunday ABC had 13.3% and SBS 4.3%. The song contest took 482,000 across its 3+ hours and enjoyed its biggest audience in Melbourne, as it does customarily. Last year competing with Big Brother live evictions and Gladiators it grabbed 427,000.

There were huge audiences for Seven News 1.7m and Nine News 1.54m but at 6:30pm Merlin‘s 1.37m topped Sunday Night‘s 1.22m -with AFL in Adelaide, Seven and TEN actually tied the share for the hour. Nine’s homeMADE repeated its 1.02m audience it managed last Sunday. In Adelaide without Sunday Night competing it picked up from 95,000 last week to 131,000.

MasterChef Australia again won its slot with 1.45m which is impressive given many younger viewers would have been sampling Eurovision. 60 Minutes beat Seven’s observational doubles.

Bones is performing well for Seven at 1.27 over CSI 1.08 and Rove‘s 1.00m.

Castle‘s debut (939,000) and CSI: NY (833,000) left Harper’s Island struggling in its second week on just 425,000. As a serial drama it’s in trouble and probably unlikely to remain.

If a one season show ripping off Agatha Christie (Harper’s Island) is rating very poorly in the US, it never made sense for Ten to screen it, but would’ve been a good fit to screen during the summer recess this year.

Please Network TEN don’t drop/move Harper’s Island. I specifically stay up and watch it whereas I wouldn’t usually keep the TV on after Rove.

I don’t know why the ratings are so low because everyone I’ve been speaking too is talking about it. That isn’t just a few people around my age either, the show appeals to a number of demographics and is a really good mystery.

Give Harpers Island a good late night timeslot – maybe 10.30 on a weeknight – guaranteed it will gain a good late night cult following – its a horror flick stretched out as a mini series but its harmless fun and well worth sitting up for